Rainbow 7 (GB)

About

Also known as: Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore built Rainbow out of the wreckage of his first stint with Deep Purple, and the early records with Ronnie James Dio remain some of the most magnetic work in hard rock. That opening run, covering the debut, Rising, and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, leaned into mystical imagery and heavy riffing in a way that still sounds singular. When Dio left for Black Sabbath, Blackmore steered the band toward a glossier, more radio friendly sound, and it paid off commercially with 'Since You Been Gone' from Down to Earth. The pop rock direction continued through the Joe Lynn Turner years, producing three more albums with decent chart traction before the band folded in 1984. Blackmore revived Rainbow twice more, first in the mid 1990s with singer Doogie White for the album Stranger in Us All, then again in 2016 for a run of European shows. That later lineup featured Ronnie Romero on lead vocals and ran until 2019, when the pandemic effectively put the band on ice. Over their whole run, Rainbow shifted personnel almost constantly, with Blackmore the sole fixed point across every lineup. They have sold over 28 million records worldwide.